Ah-ha Uses for Beauty Products

Your MacGyver guide to beauty! These clever "off-label" tricks for popular products will solve last-minute emergencies. These tips, culled from blog confessions, expert advice and our own experiments, will have you reusing your makeup in no time, not to mention save you money and get you out of emergencies.

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Nipple Cream
Great as: Lip balm
Lansinoh nipple cream was intended for use by breastfeeding mothers, but the thick, moisturizing formula has gained underground popularity as a lip balm, too! Actress Angie Harmon is said to be a fan.

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Petroleum Jelly
Great as: Furniture fixer
You may have used your trusty Vaseline Pure Petroleum Jelly, $4.49 as lip balm, moisturizer, lash definer or makeup remover, but did you know it also camouflages light scratches in wood furniture? The Beauty Brains bloggers love this tip: Just dab it on and buff. You can also make light bulbs easier to unscrew by spreading a little around the thread of a new bulb before screwing it in.

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Conditioner
Great as: Shaving cream
When traveling or just in a pinch, use the same trick employed by stars like Natalie Portman: Shave your legs with hair conditioner. It provides the same slickness as your shaving cream does, allowing your razor to slide over your legs and condition your skin without nicks and razor burn. (We like Paul Mitchell The Conditioner, $15.99.)

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Oil-Free Moisturizer
Great as: Frizz tamer
Skin Rhythm blogger Jen confesses using a less-than-pea-sized amount of Juice Beauty Oil-Free Moisturizer as a smoothing cream for her very fine hair: "It smoothed and sealed my dry ends and added a bit of shine. It even added a bit of definition to my layers without weighing down my hair or causing it to look [flat and] oily, even hours later." You can use most any face moisturizer, lip balm or body lotion to smooth frizzy flyaways. Start by rubbing just a drop of the product together between hands, then smoothing over hair or along hair ends to tame frizz. (Curly hair tip: To help define curls, wrap one-inch pieces of hair around your finger.) Add more product if necessary, but use sparingly to avoid a greasy look.

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Lip Balm
Great as: Cuticle conditioner, makeup remover
When you're done applying your lip balm (or virtually colorless gloss), don't just wipe off that leftover product on your finger. Rub it into your cuticles for a nice conditioning treatment. (Note: You can also do this with any room-temperature oil or butter you get on your hands while cooking.) Another tip for lip balm: Like petroleum jelly, it makes a great on-the-go makeup remover for that little eye makeup stain you get after washing your face. Just make sure you're not using peppermint or menthol lip balm as it could sting your eyes.)

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Rubbing Alcohol and Hairspray
Great as: Stain remover
To remove home hair color stains on your skin, sink or even carpet, sponge it with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball or rag. Just be sure to apply with a cotton ball soon after you see the stain. If you wait too long, the stain gets harder to remove. If you don't have alcohol handy and the stain is on fabric, try this tip backed by Good Housekeeping: Saturate it with hairspray, which contains alcohol and can help loosen the stain. Then soak and launder as soon as possible.

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Eye Shadow
Great as: Highlighter, contour creator, eyeliner and brow filler
Neutral metallic or white eye shadow (like Sonia Kashuk Powder Partners Eye Shadow Duo in Cocktail Hour, $7.99) can easily double as a highlighter, while matte eye shadow that's a few shades darker than your skin tone can be used to contour features. (Read TotalBeauty.com's highlighting and contouring how-to article for tips and tricks.) You can also use eye shadow as eyeliner by wetting an eyeliner brush, dipping it into the shadow and dragging it along your lash line. For brow filler, dab dry shadow on an angled dry eyeliner or brow brush and use a very light hand to fill in your brows.

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Cleanser or moisturizer
Great as: Skin soothing treatment
Refrigerate cleansers or moisturizers in lotion or gel form and use them as a post-extraction soothing treatment or refreshing makeup remover for dry skin types. (Try Alba Sea Lettuce Cleansing Milk, $9.95). You can also do this with eye cream to give tired eyes a cooling, soothing effect.

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Foundation
Great as: tinted moisturizer/concealer
Want lighter coverage than say, Nars Balanced Foundation, $40, without getting a new foundation? Create tinted moisturizer by mixing your current foundation (you can even do this with stick foundation) with a little moisturizer (we like Olay Complete Defense Daily UV Moisturizer, $13.99). Do this on the back of your hand -- not in the bottles -- and experiment with the consistency and coverage until you get what you want. Apply with a fingers or a brush (a sponge may soak up too much product) and blend well. Don't forget to set with powder to make the coverage last longer.



Bonus tip: If you need a concealer when you've run out, dab on a bit of the foundation that has caked into its cap. The moisture there has evaporated a bit more, leaving your foundation with a thicker consistency. Blend outward with fingers or a concealer brush. (Watch this video for more tips on how to apply concealer.)

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